


Everything I Know

by miss_murder



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, fisherman, human-mermaid relationship, mermaid, mermaid music, song magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 19:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4149996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_murder/pseuds/miss_murder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because I love mermaids. Literally, my school notes are full of mermaids in the margins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything I Know

Atla swam in lazy circles on the ocean floor, sunlight from the surface casting dappled spots on her lavender tail and making her scales glitter like gems. She giggled and drew some figure eights in the sand before the current washed them away. She enjoyed these moments when she could be alone, away from her tribe, free to explore and play however she saw fit that day. Her silvery-blonde hair floated around her head like tendrils of an anemone, at the mercy of the ocean currents until she started moving again.

The water around her spoke of a ship coming her way, smooth and fast as it sliced through the waves above. Atla knew, however, that she was too deep below the surface to be affected. Her curiosity got the best of her, however, and she swam a little higher to see the boat pass overhead, it's hull speckled with barnacles and algae.

The frantic school of fish swimming around her should have given her a hint that she needed to get away,  _fast_. But before that thought registered in her mind, a great net swept up behind her. Atla gasped, struggling to get free which only led to her getting more tangled. Her hair knotted in the roped, and the frantic struggling of the fish all around her didn't help much either. The net started to rise, pulling her and the fish towards the surface. Atla became scared, and the struggling grew fiercer. She'd heard stories of mers getting trapped in nets, and they never ended happily. They were taken captive by humans, never to see their families again. They were stuck in tiny tanks and put on display for amusement, or experimented on, or killed for their fins and scales. Atla screamed, hoping it would carry back to her tribe, just before she was pulled out of the water. She gasped, shocked by the frigid surface air. Despite her body running warmer than humans in order to keep warm in cold, deep waters, the surface always seemed so much colder.

The net hung above the water to let excess water drain off. All around Atla, fish were flopping and gaping for water. She could feel her own skin drying out, and she worried for what would happen next. After a moment, the captives were swung sideways, then suddenly dropped onto hard, wet wood. Atla coughed, the breath knocked out of her lungs by the drop. She clenched her fists, groaning as her tail dried out and split into two human legs. This happened with all of her kind, but she'd never experienced it herself.  _Oh_ , it was painful. 

Atla stopped, frozen stiff other than the shivers that wracked her body., when she heard footsteps on the wood. She slowly lifted her head.  _Two feet, legs, chest, two arms, hands, head, face, eyes looking straight at me. Poseidon, help me._

\--o--o--

The noise had caught his attention: a loud  _thud_ amongst the  _ploploplop_ of falling fish. Liam had gone out from the control box to investigate, then stood shocked at what he found. 

A girl. A young woman, actually, probably not much older than himself. And she was  _beautiful,_ more so than any woman he'd ever seen anywhere before. She was soaking wet, her platinum blonde hair sticking to her shoulders in a perfect, thick sheet, looking silver in the gray, cloudy day. Her eyes were wide and glassy, not unlike a deer's and an amazing shade of light purple. They had to be contacts. She was extremely pale, and her skin had a luster almost like a pearl's.

She was also naked, and Liam quickly diverted his eyes. Without really giving it a second thought, he took off his coat and draped it over her. Once she was covered, he looked back at her. The poor girl was shaking, utterly terrified.

\--o--o--

Atla was too still, feeling like a startled octopus ready to release ink and escape. With her eyes trained on the human, she tensed her arms and legs, prepared to run. But was running even an option? She didn't know how to use her legs, so she'd have to make it up as she went along.

"Are you alright?" The human's voice snapped her back to the present. He was looking down at her with... concern? But she couldn't let herself be distracted. "Are you hurt? You should get inside and warm, you'll get hypothermia out here..." He took a step towards her, but she flinched back. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you..." He continued forward.

Something inside Atla snapped. _"_ _No!_ " she shrieked, pushing herself to her feet. Instantly, white-hot pain seared up her legs like a thousand eels wrapped around her. She cried out in pain as her weak limbs crumpled under her insignificant body weight, sending her to the deck in a heap. It hurt worse than the time she'd accidentally tangled her tail with a jellyfish. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" the human said, coming back to Atla with the coat that had fallen off her shoulders. "Please, I just want to help you-"

" _Don't touch me!_ " Atla cried when he came close. Holding up his hands, the human stepped back. Atla's breaths were shaky and shallow. Carefully, she pulled herself back into a sitting position. Her lower torso still ached, but the pain was slowly fading. She clutched the coat tight around her.

The human tilted his head, curious. "What were you doing all the way out here?"

The pain had muddled Atla's judgement, so she said the first thing that made sense to her: "Swimming."

"In the middle of the ocean?"

"I... I'm very strong." Well, it wasn't a lie. 

Some pieces of dark brown hair fell into his face. "What's your name?"

She hesitated before answering. "A-... Atla..." she murmured, her eyes sliding down her legs as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

The human smiled softly. "Atla... that's a beautiful name. I'm Liam." He stuck out his hand, but Atla didn't move. Liam dropped the appendage. "I'm sorry I caught you in my net," he said softly. "Are you hurt? It didn't look like you can walk very well, did your legs get injured? well, I suppose not if you were swimming out here. But, it could have been hurt when you were dropped..."

Atla looked at him like he was mad.

Liam rubbed the back of his neck. "Er... what I mean is... you should get inside and get warm. I don't want you getting sick."

 _If only you knew. Being wet and cold is second nature to me._ "I'm fine," she muttered. "Please, just help me back into the ocean and I'll be on my way." She scratched at her legs, drying out too quickly in the cold, dry air.

Liam frowned. "Are you training for something?" Atla didn't reply once again. "Never mind. But you're at least a hundred miles from any land, and you're injured. At least let me take you to shore and get you checked out at a clinic." Atla looked confused, so he continued, "Y'know, by a doctor? Make sure you're not hurt?"

 _Doctor. That's what humans call their healers._ Atla's heart gave a little tug, and she looked out at the ocean. Other mers were approaching, still far away but moving fast.  _My tribe, they heard me scream!_

"There are others coming for me," Atla said, then looked back at Liam. "They will help me. Please, just put me back."

Liam sighed and scratched his cheek. "Are you sure? I wouldn't... I wouldn't want you to get sick from the cold..."

"I'm  _fine_ ," Atla growled from between clenched teeth, irritated at the human's stubbornness. She was running out of time to negotiate with Liam. There was no other option to get what she needed without some... persuasion.

Like a feather resting on the beach suddenly lifted into the air by a breeze, Atla's voice floated into Liam's ears, sweet and alluring like a musical spell. Their eyes were locked, and Liam's whole body relaxed.

It was like a thick sheet had settled over his mind, pushing down the thoughts of hesitation and doubt, instead making him realize that the best thing to do for Atla would be to put her back into the water. Atla smiled prettily and tossed her hair over her shoulder, betting her long eyelashes as the entrancing song continued to float from her lips.

As gently as he could, Liam knelt down and scooped the beautiful girl into his arms. She was as light as she looked and felt like nothing in his grasp. Almost as if he were a puppet being pulled around by the strings, he carried Atla over to the side of his boat, never breaking eye contact with her.

Once he set her on the side and she swung her legs over the side, the song ended but the spell remained. Liam touched her hand. "Will I ever see you again?" he muttered, brushing his thumb against the inside of her wrist.

 Atla turned her head and smiled at him, her eyes glittering. "Perhaps."

"How will I find you?"

"You'll know." Without further explanation, Atla heaved herself over the side and crashed into the boat's wake.

Liam gasped and threw himself to the side, looking for any sight that Atla was alright and hadn't hurt herself further. All he saw was blue-black water dotted with sea foam and whitecaps. 

A splash caught his attention. He craned his neck to see the source. The ink-colored ocean was broken by a sudden splash of color: a flash of light purple, then a fish tail broke the surface.

A tail unlike any fish he'd ever seen before, so brightly colored and long and... waving at him? It disappeared below the surface before he could look at it closely.

Some time later, while Liam was still slumped over the side of the boat, Atla's song-spell faded entirely from his mind. The entirety of what he'd seen made sense and he gasped, still looking out at the sea.

"Atla..." he muttered, mostly to himself, "you're... a mermaid?"


End file.
